Opening the night were Welsh rockers ‘Kids In Glass Houses’. For an
opening act, they received a surprising amount of support. By the time
the fashionable, poppy and excitable five piece were in full swing, it
became apparent that a large portion of the crowd were there to see ‘Kids
in Glass Houses’ and not the climax of the evening ‘Fall Out Boy’. ‘Kids
In Glass Houses’ are impressively tight musicians, their songs are incredibly
bouncy and their commercial success comes as to no surprise to me. However,
and I may be chased down and cast out of society for saying this, I felt
that everything ‘Kids In Glass Houses’ did became a little bit cliché.
Despite this, their solid and exciting performance warmed up the crowd
perfectly, for the main act of the evening.

Opening with ‘Thanks For the Memories’, ‘Fall Out Boy’ literally erupted
on to the stage followed by twenty foot flames, shooting out from behind
them. This impressive pyrotechnic display marked an exciting beginning
to what would become an exciting show. My first observation as I entered
the arena was the massively mixed aged group that spread itself across
the stands, mothers and fathers with their daughters, and boyfriends with
their girlfriends, were amongst the 16,000 manic, screaming fans. Despite
my first thought that this may hinder the atmosphere of the show, it seemed
to exacerbate it.

‘Fall Out Boy’ are incredibly energetic on stage. The band had no problem
in filling the large stage set-up with their awesome spins and guitar swings,
even though they are only a four piece. Admittedly, Pete Wentz is
an attractive man, every female in the crowd would scream at every word
he spoke. But for me, the true talent of the band lies in Patrick Stump.
His huge vocals are often underrated, and the high notes he hit could make
even Michael Jackson jealous. Just as his band members point out at one
point during the show, by calling him ‘the human jukebox’, the silent Patrick
Stump seems to talk through his music. Playing the technical lead parts
and singing the often challenging vocal melodies at the same time, meant
that Patrick Stump stole the show.

The impressively long one hour and fifteen minutes that ‘Fall Out Boy’
were on stage for, was filled with both old and news songs, perfect for
both old and new fans. Sugar
We’re Going Down Swinging’ contained one of the biggest sing-a-longs
I have ever heard. ‘This Aint A Scene.. I’ts an Arms Race’ contained one
of the biggest crowd movements I have ever seen. And, ‘Dance Dance’ was
probably one of the best encore choices I have ever witnessed. Songs from
the latest album, ‘Folie a Deux’ show a great deal of promise, the sound
appearing to move away from the old pop punk sound to a more arena filling
spectacle. The use of four extra drums on ‘Detox just to Retox’, did make
for an epic performance, that confirmed the change in sound. In my personal
opinion, I enjoyed the songs they played from the ‘Under the Cork Tree’
Album, the interesting lyrical ideas and flowing guitar melodies, made
the songs feel altogether more accessible and polished. A couple of covers
thrown in for good measure completed the set list, the interesting choice
of ‘Estelle’s ‘American Boy’ proved successful as ‘Fall Out Boy’ made it
not only their own, but improved on the original. Everyone was expecting
the ‘Michael Jackson’ cover of ‘Beat It’, and ‘Fall Out Boy executed it
well despite the lack of solo as the climax for the song, leaving some
doubt as to the guitarists ability.

It’s difficult to discuss ‘Fall Out Boy’, without taking into account
the stigma that follows them, and more accurately ‘Pete Wentz’ around.
On more than one occasion I heard people discussing the arrogance that
‘Pete Wentz’ has attributed, and how this has ruined ‘Fall Out Boy’s image.
However, I feel that this arrogance works for ‘Fall Out Boy’, this was
confirmed when the band literally told the crowd, ‘I Don’t Care’. The song
was perfectly performed, with brilliant light up guitars and a fire work
display to match. ‘Fall Out Boy’ proved tonight they deserve to be as popular
as they are. Once a small town pop-punk band, but now arena filling
mega-stars, ‘Fall Out Boy’ are quickly becoming one of the biggest and
arguably best bands in the world.